Paul McCartney says his bitter rift with Beatles bandmate John Lennon may have drawn headlines, but their real story at the end was one of forgiveness, as the two put aside differences to bond over fatherhood and “bread-making recipes.”

“The story about the break-up, it’s true but it’s not the main bit, the main bit was the affection,” the musician, 72, lovingly recalled days before the Monday anniversary of Lennon’s murder outside the famed Dakota apartment buildingin Manhattan.

“I’m so glad because it would have been the worst thing in the world to have this great relationship that then soured and he gets killed, so there was some solace in the fact that we got back…